According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Monitor service, smartphone shipments in the second quarter of 2016 in Western Europe declined 1% YoY and 8% sequentially. However the largest five countries grew 4% YoY but declined 6% sequentially.

Peter Richardson, Research Director at Counterpoint, commenting on Q2 2016 market and vendor performance said, “The overall smartphone demand remained soft during the quarter with upticks in demand in Italy (+8% YoY), France (+9% YoY) and UK (+4% YoY) offset by slowdowns in Spain, Germany and other smaller countries across Western Europe. However, 4G LTE smartphone demand grew a substantial 76% YoY, as most brands transitioned to an all LTE portfolio and operators continued to push LTE smartphone bundles across the region. The UK was the biggest market for LTE smartphone shipments during the quarter, followed by France and Germany. The UK also continues to drive the highest LTE subscription number in the region, reaching 40 million subscriptions at the end of Q2, led by the operator EE with a 41% share in the UK. The wave of LTE smartphone subscriber growth and the Q4 holiday season will drive the overall demand higher across Western Europe in the second half of this year”.

Tarun Pathak, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, commented further, “Western Europe continues to be a market of strategic importance for many brands, not only from a volume perspective but also value perspective as it is one of the higher ASP markets in the world. As the smartphone market becomes increasingly saturated and growth is more and more driven by replacement demand, the mid-range to premium segment is going to be even more competitive in coming quarters. The brands with strong marketing campaigns, better product quality, and strong channel and operator partnerships will cement their position in the second half. Huawei and Apple should register positive growth in the second half of 2016, likely at the expense of Samsung and other Android brands such as LG, Sony, HTC and others. Aggressive Asian brands such as Oppo,Vivo, LeEco and Xiaomi remain elusive in Europe, the challenge is coming more from home-grown brands such as Wiko and BQ. However their share remains limited across the region as a whole.”

Market Summary:

Almost nine out of every ten mobile phones shipped in Western Europe were smartphones

Chinese brands contributed to almost a fifth of the overall smartphone shipments.

One in five smartphones are sold through online channels.

Almost nine out of every ten smartphones shipped in Western Europe were LTE capable.

Top five markets contribute to almost 78% of the total smartphone market.

Research Director
Peter has 27 years experience in the mobile industry with extensive experience in market analysis and corporate development. Most recently Peter was Global Head of Market and Competitive Intelligence at Nokia. Here he headed a team responsible for analyzing and quantifying the industry. Prior to Nokia, Peter was an equity analyst at SoundView Technology Group. And before that he was VP and Chief Analyst of mobile and wireless research at Gartner. Peter’s early years in the industry were spent with NEC and Panasonic.